Attending Signature Sound concert tomorrow

Tomorrow I will be in Grand Rapids seeing Signature Sound in concert for the second time. The first time I saw them was last summer with Tim, so this will be my first look at the new bass singer, Ian Owens. After seeing some clips of Ian around the web, I am very impressed with his voice, and I feel that he is just as good as Tim in his own way (which I really wasn’t expecting, to be honest!) I have a good seat, and I’m very much looking forward to it. There are a lot of songs that I am hoping they will include, but a few “sugar sticks” that I will be watching for are:

“The Old Rugged Cross” from Ian—This has quickly become a signature tune for him, and if you find it on Youtube you will see why.

It will be interesting to see how many Cathedrals features Ian does. I wonder when they’ll turn him loose on “This Old House.” I had hoped to see Tim do it, but I would expect nothing less than excellence from Ian.

“We Shall See Jesus” from Devin—Last time I saw him sing this it was his first time performing it on stage, and he did a great job. I don’t know whether they will play a video with Glen or have him sing it all the way through, but either way it will surely be a highlight of the night.

“Jesus is Holding My Hand” from Doug—They’ve introduced Doug’s new single into their repertoire to promote his upcoming solo release, and I think it’s a great move. Doug always sings this song directly from the heart, as he does anything. Also, I know this is a bit of a long-shot, but I kinda wish he would sing “Forgiven Again…”

And finally, “Oh What a Savior” from Ernie, which believe it or not I have never seen him perform live. The last time I saw the group, he inexplicably left it off the set! I think my chances are good this time though. 😉

I’m bringing a nice camera, so I hope to get some good shots and post a gallery along with a review sometime in the next week or two. And you never know…I just might catch up with someone at the table and bring back a little Q & A. Stay tuned.

I saw them in January in Portland. All of the aforementioned songs were performed except “this old house”. Of course this was Ian’s very first show with the group, maybe they’ve worked that into the repertoire. It will be interesting to see, or hear, as the case may be. Interesting thing about Signature Sound, it took me quite a while to get over Ryan Seaton’s departure. It’s a little odd because I’ve been a fan long enough to know singers come and go. Devin is good and a VERY nice guy but I really feel that Ryan was a big part of their sound and they haven’t been as good since he left. Am I wrong?

Greg, I want to tread a little carefully here, but I would say that although I think I also prefer Ryan’s voice, personally I find that the difference in the group’s sound has been a lot smaller than I originally thought. To each his own, but I say Devin has proven to be a great fit. Now, the sound is a little bit different—with Ryan it had a very rounded, smooth, clear-cut feel, whereas now with Devin it’s a little less smooth, a little more soulful. Myself, I tend to go for a more clear-cut sound, but Devin is certainly capable of delivering a very powerful, clear performance. As I said in one of the reviews I wrote for them, he is really at his best when he doesn’t pull any punches or slide around a note—when he just sings, it’s terrific. And I think that he’s improved a lot since he first joined.

I had the opportunity to see the boys this past weekend in Spartanburg, SC. Ernie was very much under the weather. You could tell by the set list that Ernie was determined to give us a great show – which they did! – even if he could not give it his all. Ian did a great job – His voice is very different from Tim’s – Ian’s almost seems to have a more classical/theatrical sound to it (not a bad thing!) where Tim’s is more smooth/mellow. I can’t wait to hear them again later this year when Ian has had more time with the group and Ernie is well to hear how the group really sounds.